The Second Generation
by weaselygurl
Summary: What if the Potters hadn't been marked for death? The second generation of Marauders still can't avoid the long reach of Voldemort...
1. Chapter 1

A/N Okay I'm Harry Potter crazy most of the time, but sometimes it'll be a while before the next chappie comes up. So, review on my story, and I'll try to keep the long breaks short. So yeah. Enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: All the characters and stuff that I didn't make belong to JK Rowling.

Intro to the Characters:

Harry James Potter – You know who he is. 14 years old in this story.

David Evans Potter – Harry's little bro, three years younger. Red hair, green eyes, and freckles. Annoys the heck out of Harry most of the time.

Phillip Seng and Paul Lee Black – sons of Sirius Black and Holly Seng Black. Twins, Harry's age, short, with long black hair and brown eyes.

Jared Aaron Lupin – son of Remus J. Lupin and Anne Kinchez Lupin. Tall, with black hair, brown eyes, and light freckles. Plays the Muggle sport "basketball" during his free time. Also 14.

More people from the original books, like the Weaselys, Hermione, etc., are in here, but you all know who they are already (hopefully:)).

"Pleasepleasepleasepleasepl-"

"Harry, you're driving me crazy! The answer is no!" Lily turned to glare at her son.

"But Mum, my other broom is getting all torn up!" Harry pleaded.

"That's your fault! If you and Paul and Phillip wouldn't do such stupid things on your brooms, they wouldn't be like that!"

"Dad has one," Harry argued, changing tactics quickly.

"Your father is playing Quidditch at an International level! We didn't have to pay full price for his!" replied Lily, turning to walk away. Harry moved so that he was in front of her again. "Harry, stop it right now! You are not getting a Firebolt!" She moved past him, successfully avoiding any more arguments.

"Dad, can I-"

"Maybe later," James interrupted. "There's no way you'll get a Firebolt if you keep annoying your mum about it."

Harry groaned and sat down heavily on a soft cushion. He had been begging for a Firebolt since he had seen an ad for it in the _Daily Prophet_. A lot of creative magic had happened to ask for one, but so far, all his pleas had failed. Already, though, a new plan was forming in his mind.

Opening the door to his parent's room slowly, Harry used his wand to guide the paper where he had written his plea over to where Lily slept. If he had done the magic right, the paper would follow her around until she relented.

Bad plan.

"You are not getting it back until school starts!" Lily shouted, watching Harry poking the invisible barrier hopelessly with his wand. "I have had enough of your _projects_ to drive me crazy, Harry James Potter!" _Uh-oh_, Harry thought._ Full name. She's serious._ After an hour of a paper flying through the air after her, Lily had taken Harry's Nimbus 2000 and put up magical walls around it that would zap anyone that touched it with anything other than a wand.

"Tough luck, mate," Paul said, brushing long black hair out of his eyes.

"Want to come to our house for a while?" asked his twin, Phillip. Lily turned to Sirius's boys, her green eyes flashing with anger.

"If I catch Harry on either of your broomsticks, that particular broom will go in the fire along with this one," she threatened.

"We'd never do something like that!" Paul exclaimed, trying to seem innocent, but looking more alarmed than anything else.

"We were just going to give Harry some – comfort over his great loss," Phillip added hastily, bowing low to hide his face. Lily shooed them off, still looking extremely angry.

"Well, at least there's only one more month until school starts," Paul said bracingly as they walked down the street an hour later.

"A whole month!" Harry groaned.

"I told you you shouldn't've bugged Mum so much," David panted, jogging up beside them. Harry pushed him backwards.

"Bug off, David," he snarled. David walked up to him again, and Harry pulled out his wand. "If you don't leave I'm going to-"

"Relax!" exclaimed David. "Mum wanted me to tell you to come home." He rolled his eyes and turned around, infuriating Harry in the way only his eleven-year-old brother could.

"Well, see you tomorrow then," Phillip said. He and Paul started walking towards their house, and Harry turned to return to his home. He took the long way home, and didn't reach the house until nearly 15 minutes later. When he walked in the door, his mother rushed up to him, her face white and scared.

"Oh, Harry!" she exclaimed, throwing herself around his neck. Surprised, Harry looked up at his father, who looked nearly as scared as Lily.

"Um…" He tried to think of something to say that wouldn't sound stupid. "Is something wrong?"

"There's been an attack nearby," James said quietly. "We've had reports that Voldemort is coming this way."

Harry's eyes widened. He had heard of the Dark wizard that was terrorizing the magical world. What if David hadn't been sent when he had? What if. . .

"Mum, Dad, what about Paul and Phillip?" he asked, starting to feel his neck prickling with panic. "We were walking the other way! They were almost twice as far away from their house!"

Lily's eyes darted to James, who tried to stay calm. "They'll be okay," he assured them. "We're not even sure if this was where Voldemort was going to. Most likely, he was heading for one of the bigger towns close to here."

_But what if he wasn't? _Harry thought. He saw his father swallow, and he knew that the twins were in danger. Tomorrow, whether or not Voldemort had been sighted again, he was going to find out what had happened to them.

The next day, Harry didn't have to wait long to find out about Paul and Phillip. At about 7:00 in the morning, Sirius and Holly burst through the door.

"Are they here?" Holly asked breathlessly. Pale and wide-eyed, Lily shook her head. Holly sank onto the sofa and began to sob. Sirius stood, looking like he was in a dream. He couldn't seem to bring himself back to reality. _His two sons were gone._

That scene was all it took for Harry to begin sneaking quietly back up the stairs. Almost silently, he pulled out his wand and turned to where his broomstick was still hanging.

"I can get it out."

Harry jumped. Standing behind him was David. Any other time, Harry would have hexed his little brother right then and there, but if what he said was true. . .

"If you're joking, then you'd better start running now," Harry hissed. David shook his head.

"I'm serious," he whispered. "Mom needed to tell someone how to get it out, or the spell wouldn't have worked."

"Will you get it out for me?" wondered Harry, starting to feel hope rise.

"Can I go with you?"

Harry's hopes plummeted. "David, I need you to stay here. If no one tells Mum where I've gone, she'll think that I've been killed."

For a tense moment, Harry wondered if David would refuse to get it out if he couldn't go along. Every minute, Paul and Phillip were getting farther away. Finally, David's shoulders rose and fell.

"Acesive," he muttered, pointing his own wand at the invisible barrier. As the broom fell into Harry's hands, David gave him a small smile. "Tell Paul and Phillip I said hi."

Harry returned the smile gratefully. "Once things have calmed down and someone notices I'm gone, stall for as long as you can before you tell them where I am," he instructed. He reached out and ruffled his little brother's hair. "Thanks, Davy."

Opening his bedroom window, Harry tucked his wand in his jeans pocket and mounted his broom. Pausing for a moment to close his window, he waved one more time and flew into the night. David returned downstairs without anyone noticing him. Lily was sitting next to Holly, and James and Sirius were now at the table, both silent.

"Harry, go get a glass of-" Lily looked around. "Where's Harry?"

_Uh-oh,_ David thought. His mind raced as he tried to think of something. "Uh, he's in his room. He's kind of upset."

Lily nodded once. "Okay, please go get a glass of water for Holly, David."

David went into the kitchen gladly, wondering how long he was going to be able to stall. As he pulled out a tall glass and filled it with cold water, he struggled to clear his face. Lily was so busy trying to comfort Holly that she didn't notice his expression.

"I'm going to go upstairs," he told his mother. She nodded again.

"Don't bother Harry," she said sternly. David turned and went up the stairs. He felt a little guilty about lying, but he knew that he wouldn't be helping anyone if he told them where Harry really was. He had to trust his brother.


	2. Jared's Decision

A/N: Second Chapter!

Disclaimer: No I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff that all you people are familiar with. It's all JK Rowling's.

Harry shivered as he sat behind a large bush. He had brought a sweatshirt, but when the downpour began, he had gotten soaked through. Several times, he nearly hopped back on his boom and left, but he felt that Jared should know what was happening. Harry didn't want to be caught by Remus or his wife, so he was waiting behind the bush outside of Jared's window.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the light flicked on in Jared's window. Jumping up, Harry looked up at the window. It was just above his head. Groaning, Harry wished that he wasn't so short. Standing for a moment, he stretched out his legs, getting the blood flowing in the again. After a minute, he began jumping up and down, trying to get Jared's attention. Unfortunately, the other boy had his back to the window.

"Dang it, Jared, turn around!" Harry muttered under his breath. He jumped again, knocking on the window. Jared turned, but he didn't see anything. He was about to turn back around, when Harry's head and shoulders appeared outside his window. Knocking over a chair in his haste, Jared ran to the window and threw it open.

"Harry!" Jared whispered. "What are you doing?"

"Did you hear about the twins?" Harry asked grimly. Frowning, Jared nodded.

"Your mum came over here a while ago to tell us," he replied.

"Did she say anything about me?" wondered Harry, hoping his brother had held out for at least this long. To his relief, Jared shook his head.

"I don't think she knew you were gone," he said. "She did say that you were really upset, but she didn't say anything else."

"Good," Harry breathed. Now, if David would stall just until he had left town, everything would be perfect for his escape. "Jared, I'm going to find them."

It took a moment for that to sink in, then Jared's eyes widened. "You're what? Harry, we're talking about Voldemort here! This isn't some kind of school bully, it's an evil wizard, a murderer! What if Phillip and Paul are already – already –" Jared stopped, gripping the windowsill tightly.

"They aren't, Jared!" Harry exclaimed, then looked around and quickly lowered his voice. "They aren't! You know that! Think of Sirius and Holly! Think of us! We would know if they were dead! They can't be dead!"

Jared's eyes were blurring, and he rubbed them hard. "What if they are?"

Harry stood for a moment, staring at his friend. Suddenly, he dropped to the ground. Wrapping his arms around his knees, he hid his face and sat still for a moment. The air was silent, except for the sounds of the rain falling and Harry's ragged breathing. A minute dragged by, while Jared stared at Harry, not really seeing him. They were both deep in their thoughts. Then, wiping both rain and tears from his face, Harry stood again.

"I don't care," he said simply. Jared snapped back into focus.

"What?"

"I don't care," Harry repeated. "I'm going to find them. If they're alive, I'll get them back here. If they're –" He choked slightly, then continued. "If they're dead, I'll get revenge."

Jared could have kept arguing. He almost felt that he should have. However, he didn't. He knew exactly what was driving at Harry. The four of them – Harry, Jared, Phillip, and Paul – had been together for as long as they could remember. They considered themselves brothers. And now, Jared knew what had to be done.

"I'm coming with you," he said quietly. Harry had been expecting this, and he shook his head.

"You need to stay here and make sure our families are doing okay," he told him.

"No!" Jared surprised himself by protesting so vehemently. "David can do that. I'm not going to leave you to deal with the most evil wizard of all time. I want some of the glory."

It was a weak attempt at humor, and Harry smiled gratefully. There was a moment where he almost tried to talk Jared out of it, but it passed, and Harry realized that he could use another person to help him out. "Go get your broom."

Quickly, Jared scribbled a note to his parents and opened his closet for his broom. "Snap!" he whispered, pushing the clothes aside. "It's in the front room." As if on cue, two of his little sisters popped into the room, and Harry ducked under the windowsill.

"What are you doing, Jared?" asked 10-year-old Becky.

"Yeah, what are you doing, Jared?" echoed Ivy, who was only five.

"Be quiet, Ivy!" Becky exclaimed, stomping her foot.

"You be quiet, Becky!" Ivy replied, pouting.

"Jared, make her stop!" they said together.

"Hush, girls," Jared said, kneeling down in front of them. "Hey, I have a special mission for you."

"What is it?" Ivy asked, her eyes as big as goose eggs.

"I need you two to go into the front room and get my broom for me," he told them.

"Aw, that's not a special mission!" Becky whined, and Jared raised his eyebrows.

"Fine," he said calmly, and Harry wondered how much patience his friend could have. "Ivy can do it for me, right?"

"Uh-huh," Ivy answered, looking up at her big brother adoringly.

"Wait, I wanna go!" Becky cried, starting for the door.

"Okay, you can help, but one more thing." Jared looked at them and tried to smile. "You get extra points if Mum and Dad don't see you."

They took off, giggling and whispering to each other as they went down the hall. Harry stood up again. "That was good," he murmured, looking at Jared appreciatively. Just as Jared started to reply, his door opened again, and Harry dropped down once more. He couldn't see who had opened the door, but he recognized the voices clearly.

"Jared? What are you doing?"

Jared looked at his father, trying to think of an excuse quickly. "Uh, well, I was just thinking about Phillip and Paul," he lied, trying to keep his face clear of guilt.

"Oh, Jared," his mother sighed. "I know that this is hard for you. I wish there was something I could do."

"We're going down to the Potters," Remus told him, and Harry, kneeling on the damp ground outside, felt a wave of cold dread. "Do you want to go see Harry?"

Jared felt like someone was choking him. "No, um, I just want to spend some time alone," he said, and Anne nodded understandingly.

"We'll be back in a few hours." Remus looked at him with some concern. "If you want to, walk to the Potter's, but make sure you take the girls with you." Nodding, Jared tried to think of a way to get his sisters to Potter's without giving himself and Harry away.

"Wouldn't it be better if you just took them with you right now?" he wondered.

"Yes, but they're playing hide-and-seek or something, and we can't find them," Remus admitted, pulling a face. Jared smiled slightly. That was one thing his sisters were good at; if they didn't want to be seen, they could disappear. This particular talent made bath time a nightmare for their mother. Out of the corner of his eye, Jared saw Becky peek in and pull out of sight again almost instantly.

"Did you check the cupboard under the sink?" Jared suggested.

"Twice," Anne moaned, "but I'll go check it again."

"I'll try the attic one more time," Remus added, and they both left. A few seconds later, Ivy and Becky ran in, carrying Jared's broom.

"We did it!" Becky smiled, and Jared smiled back.

"Jared, why is Harry sitting outside your window?" Ivy asked innocently. For a moment, Harry thought he was going to pass out. How did she know?

"Shhh," Jared whispered, quickly checking outside the door to make sure neither of his parents had been within hearing range. "How do you know about that?"

"We hid your broom in the shed earlier, so we had to go out there to get it," Becky responded matter-of-factly. "We saw him when we were coming back."

"Listen," Jared told them, "me and Harry are going on a trip, but you can't tell anyone, okay?" The two girls nodded. "Even if Mum or Dad asks you where we are, say you don't know. If you need any help, talk to David, but make sure no one else can hear." Again, his sisters nodded, both looking somber.

"When will you be back?" Becky asked.

"Yeah, when will you be back?" Ivy repeated.

"I don't know," Jared told them. "Now go with Mum and Dad to the Potter's house, and remember, don't tell anyone!" He pushed them out gently, and they scampered off to find their parents.

A few minutes later, all was clear, and Jared hurriedly stuffed food and extra clothes into his school bag, then joined Harry outside. Taking a deep breath, Jared turned to his friend and said, "Let's go."


	3. The Barn

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters you recognize.

Harry leaned against a tree, panting slightly, and Jared did the same. They had spent the last few hours running from one hiding place to another, not daring to get on their brooms until they reached a place that was far from occupied.

"So which way do we fly?" Jared asked once he had caught his breath. Harry shrugged. He still felt like his mind was drowning in all that had happened. Taking a deep breath, he tried to pull himself together.

"_Point me_," he whispered to his wand, and it spun around a few times before pointing off to his right. He stared in that direction for a while before he looked back at Jared.

"South," they said together, both with a certainty that that was the right direction. Picking up their brooms, they looked around one more time to be sure that they were completely alone.

"Let's go," Harry said with a note of finality. As they soared into the sky, Harry had an uneasy feeling. A sudden picture of his and Jared's families at a funeral forced its way into his mind. Shaking it off, he put on an extra spurt of speed and focused on the task at hand.

After several hours of flying, both boys began to realize that their bodies were almost completely numb. The cold night air, along with the moisture from the clouds they had gone through, was slowly freezing them.

"We've g-g-g-got t-t-to land," Jared said through chattering teeth. Harry nodded once, shivering as well.

"D-d-down there," he called, pointing to an old farmhouse. The two of them went into a dive, swooping into the barn. It was relatively warm in there, and the two boys began to try and warm themselves up. Slowly, feeling returned to their limbs, but not without pain.

"We might as well get some sleep," Harry suggested, looking outside at the stars. "I don't think we'll be able to go any farther tonight."

"Agreed." Jared shivered and pulled off his sweatshirt, realizing that its dampness was making him colder than necessary. "You seem to forget, however, that we're in someone else's barn."

"So keep quiet." Harry shrugged helplessly and looked back at his friend. "It's not like there's anywhere else we can go. We just have to be sure we leave before the owners wake up."

"And how do you suggest we do that? Neither of us have the energy to stay up and keep watch."

"So just – I dunno, keep telling yourself to wake up at 4:00 tomorrow morning. It usually works for me, we'll just have to hope it works now." Harry lay down behind a stack of hay bales. Jared watched for a moment, then found his own stack of hay to hide behind.

_Wake up at four, wake up at four, wake up –_

Jared didn't make it through the third repetition before he fell asleep on the hard, cold dirt. Harry lasted for nearly thirty seconds before exhaustion overtook him.

David didn't sleep much the night after Harry left. He was tense and worried about everything that had happened. He finally slept at four in the morning, waking up again at six. Pulling a blanket around his shoulders, he left his room to go downstairs. As he passed his parent's room, he heard voices and stopped.

"Harry didn't come out of his room all day yesterday. I'm afraid of what this is doing to him." It was his mother. David bit his lip and listened for his father's reply.

"You can't expect him to live normally after two of his best friends have been kidnapped by the most evil wizard our world has known," his dad's voice reasoned, but sadness was eminent in his voice.

"I don't know if I should go and try to talk to him, or let him think it out." Lily sounded like she was close to tears. "I don't why any of this is happening. I was so irritated with him and the twins the day that it happened. The twins don't deserve to have this happen to them, and neither do their parents. Now there's no way to tell if we'll ever see Phillip and Paul again." David heard his mother take a deep breath and let it out shakily. "If I feel this bad about it, I can't imagine how Sirius and Holly feel."

David felt sick. He didn't want to be the one to tell the adults what Harry had done. He had the awful feeling that they would blame him for letting his brother go. David knew now that if Harry died, he would never forgive himself.

Harry rolled over and pulled his knees up to his chest, trying to get warm without opening his eyes. After laying there for a moment, he began to get the odd feeling of being watched. Opening one eye, he saw a man standing by the bales of hay. Closing his eye again, Harry remembered where he was. It took him another moment to realize what he had seen.

Bolting straight up, Harry looked at the man with more than just a little fear. The man looked back, his expression more curious than angry. Swallowing hard, Harry delivered a well-spoken excuse for sleeping in the man's barn.

"Um, I, uh, well I –"

"Harry, what're you –" Jared looked over at the scene groggily for a second, then his eyes flew wide open and he sat up.

"Are you boys in some kind of trouble?" the man asked, leaning on a pitchfork.

"Yeah, you could say that," Harry replied, eyeing the pitchfork nervously. The man followed his gaze and laughed, throwing the pitchfork to the side.

"I won't hurt you, son," the older man promised with a grin. "I just want to know what troubles the occupants of my hotel are going through. I'll even give you a good hot meal if you give me an explanation."

"Well, we, uh," Harry stammered. He glanced at Jared, who seemed more than willing to let him be the spokesman. "A couple of our friends have gone missing," he told the farmer, deciding to tell half the truth. "We wanted to go after them before they got too far for us to catch up, and we forgot to make reservations."

"Missing, eh? Did they run off?"

"No, sir," Harry said softly, looking at the ground. "They were kidnapped. There was nobody prepared to go after them, so we went before anyone could stop us."

The man nodded with a faraway look in his eyes. "I remember those days," he said quietly. "There was nothing that could stop you, if you were sharp enough. Police and adults – they don't do nothing to help out, do they?"

Jared and Harry looked at each other in surprise. This wasn't what they had been expecting. A moment passed, and the man looked back at them with a crooked smile. "I suppose you boys are a little hungry?"

"Starved!" Harry exclaimed, jumping at the opportunity for a hot breakfast.

"Well then, come along, and I'll get you fed up before you go on."

Harry leaned back in the wooden chair, finally full. The old man had watched in amazement as the two boys ate their way through a dozen eggs, a plate of bacon, a stack of pancakes, and seven or eight potatoes. "You boys must've been half-starved!" he exclaimed when they were finished. "You could probably eat me out of house and home in a week!"

"Thanks for the breakfast, sir," Harry said with a smile.

"Yeah, thanks," Jared added. "We should probably be going. We won't keep you any longer."

"Not so fast," the old man said, and the two boys glanced at each other, hoping he wouldn't ask for some kind of payment. "You two wouldn't happen to be wizards, would you?"

A/N First off, thank you to all of my reviewers! You guys are awesome! bkaym asked if Ron and Hermione are going to show up in the story - yes, they will once the boys get to school, but I'm thinking that they won't have quite as big of a part as they do in the actual books. Thanks again for the reviews!


	4. Found

Harry's mind almost froze with shock. "Wizards?" he repeated numbly.

"There's no such thing," Jared replied, keeping his head.

"I see." The farmer leaned forward on the table. "So the name of Black doesn't mean anything to you?"

"Black? No, who's that?" Harry tried his best to sound convincing, but his voice cracked on the last word. The man's eyes suddenly went dull, and he didn't answer. A loud laugh sounded behind them, and the boys turned to see a woman pointing her wand at them.

"Who's that?" she mimicked, mocking the squeak in Harry's voice. Harry recognized her, he knew she had been in the news, she was suspected to be one of Voldemort's followers, but he couldn't remember her name.

"What do you want?" Jared demanded, sounding much more confident than either of them felt.

"What do I want?" The woman stared at them coldly. "It's not what _I_ want, dear boys. It's what my master wants, and he wants support. I took my little nephews to give them the chance of a lifetime, and now you'll get the opportunity as well."

_Nephews._ The word triggered Harry's memory. "Bellatrix Lestrange," he recalled, and she laughed.

"You've heard of me! Well, I suppose you would have, as you know my blood traitor cousin so well," she sneered. "I guess I can't call them my nephews now, though it's a close enough relation. Well, are you going to come quietly, or do I have to bring you by force?"

"It doesn't matter," Harry seethed, "it's not going to change my answer. I won't join Voldemort, and there's nothing you can do to-"

"_Stupefy!_"

Lestrange had seen Jared move, and she brought up her own wand. "_Protego_!" The red light bounced off of her shield and rocketed back at Jared, sending him crashing into the wall. Harry watched in shock as Lestrange began laughing again.

"Oh, you aren't ready to play with the big kids yet," she said mockingly pointing her wand at him. "A simple shield charm will protect me. What about you, little Harry? Your father was a fair spellcaster, let's see if you can match him!"

Rage boiled over in Harry, and he shouted "_Crucio!_" The use of an Unforgivable Curse took Lestrange by surprise, and she doubled over with a shriek of pain. It passed in a moment, though, and she had her wand pointed back at Harry.

"Not good enough," she smirked. "_Crucio!_"

Harry dove behind the table, which bucked from the force of the spell and cracked down on his head. Dazed, he touched his head and saw blood on his hand. Lestrange was coming around the table now, he could hear her, he had to move, he scrambled around the table on all fours and was almost in the next room when he heard her speak again. "_Stupefy!_"

A long time later, Harry opened his eyes and closed them again, then reopened them. Nothing changed. He couldn't see anything. Fighting the rising panic, he called, "Hello?"

"It's okay, Harry, we're right here," someone said from only inches away. Harry struggled to place the voice.

"Phillip?"

"And Paul and Jared," Phillip responded. Harry reached out and hit someone's stomach. Straining to see, Harry found the person's wrist and held on.

"Is that you?"

"Yes," Phillip assured him.

"Why can't I see anything?" Harry demanded.

"It's pitch dark in here," Paul told him. "We thought we'd gone blind, until they opened the top."

"The top of what?" Jared asked.

"We're in a trunk," Phillip explained. "We've walked around and never found any walls, but every time they open the top, it's right above us, like we don't even move."

"How did they catch you?" Paul wondered. "Are we still near home?"

"No." Harry explained how they had followed the two boys out of the city and how they ended up in the old man's barn, and what had happened with Bellatrix. "I think she had the old man under the Imperius Curse," he said, after he told them how she Stunned him.

"Very good, Potter, I suppose you have some power running through your brain after all," said a sneering voice from a few feet away. Harry turned towards it, and a sudden light from someone's wand made him squint.

"Snape!" Jared exclaimed, and all four boys stared at the sallow-faced man, who smiled unpleasantly.

"Professor Snape, I believe you should call me," he said, approaching the boys. "I may have to report your insolence to the Headmaster, should you live long enough to return to Hogwarts."

"You're a vampire, you're an old –" Paul listed off all the dirty words he knew until Snape waved his wand with a Silencing Spell. Before anyone could think, Paul shut his mouth and punched the man with all his strength, knocking Snape to the ground. Phillip was immediately at his twin's side, and he kicked Snape's wand out of his hand. Harry saw it spinning towards him, and immediately scooped it up and snapped it cleanly in half, releasing Paul from the spell and plunging them back into darkness.

"Harry, look out!" Just before everything darkened, Jared had seen a second person in the room, raising their wand hand. Harry felt Jared collide with him just as Lestrange's voice shouted, "_Crucio!_" There was a horrible shout, followed by screams of agony.

"Stop!" Phillip yelled. "Stop, you old hag!" Harry could hear him moving, trying to find the source of Jared's pain. Someone grabbed Harry's ankle, and he jumped. It was Jared. Helplessly, Harry touched his friend's shoulder, feeling his rigid grasp.

"Bellatrix!" Snape bellowed, and Jared's screams stopped. Harry carefully helped his friend to sit up, letting Jared lean on him for support. "They are to be of a sound mind when they are presented to the Dark Lord. I would advise you not to go against his orders, and save your torture until after they are worthless."

"Right you are, Severus," Bellatrix responded, breathing heavily. "I forgot myself."

"See that it doesn't happen again," Snape ordered coldly. "Perhaps we will postpone this meeting until a later date. These boys won't be as troublesome when they're half-starved."

There were two loud cracks, and the boys were alone. Jared slid to the floor, and Harry carefully fit the two pieces of Snape's wand back together on the floor. Touching it lightly with one finger, he muttered, "_Lumos._" The light flickered, then stayed strong. Looking around, Harry saw Paul and Phillip looking tired, disheveled and angry, then turned his gaze on Jared. The boy was lying on the ground with his eyes closed, his breathing short and erratic. The twins sat next to Harry and Jared, looking murderous.

"Can we use Snape's wand to kill either of them?" Paul asked furiously. Harry shook his head, feeling his stomach turn at the thought that they might have to kill to get out of this.

"It's barely staying together on the ground, we can't go waving it about," he replied.

"Why'd you break it, Harry?" Paul snapped. "We could've fought back –"

"No, you couldn't have," Jared whispered, eyes still closed. "Lestrange would've just cursed someone else until you dropped the wand." Paul swore and hit the ground, trying to relieve some of his frustrations.

"They can't get away with it," Phillip said, determined. "Somehow we'll get out of it." Harry looked at the situation bleakly. _Now would be a good time to tell, Davy,_ he thought wearily.

A/N Here's another chapter for you. It would've been up earlier, but my computor was on the fritz. Thanks again to my reviewers! People seem to be anxious for Hermione and Ron to get in here. I promise they'll get in, but probably not until the boys get to Hogwarts, and then they might not be quite as much of a key part. Anyways, thanks for your reviews, and to everyone else that will be suffering from exams before long - good luck.


	5. Making Plans

It was nearly noon, the day after Harry left, that Lily made up her mind to go talk to Harry. David heard her say it, and all the blood rushed out of his face, making him so dizzy that he swayed on the spot. His father spotted him, and asked with concern, "Are you alright, Dave?"

Swallowing hard and trying to hold back tears, David blurted out, "Harry's gone."

A ringing silence met his words, and then Lily rushed up the stairs to her son's room. David looked at the ground, feeling terribly guilty and expecting the worst from his parent's reactions. James just stood in the kitchen, waiting for Lily to return. She flew down the stairs and into his arms, sobbing, "He's not in there!"

"Why didn't you tell us, David?" James asked, his voice unnaturally calm. The boy stared at the floor, ashamed.

"He told me not to," he whispered, suddenly feeling that he should have known better than to let Harry go off like that. Glancing up for a moment, he saw his mother crying into his father's shoulder, and his feeling of guilt intensified. James held his wife for a few minutes, comforting her, and then she composed herself.

"We need to contact Dumbledore," James said, his voice still strong and lacking even the slightest accusatory tone.

"I'll go," Lily offered, wiping her eyes one last time.

"I'm going to tell Sirius and Remus," James told her as she left the room. Before he walked out of the house, he stopped and placed a hand on David's shoulder. "I know Harry's your big brother," he whispered in a neutral tone, "but right now, we need to do everything to find him before he gets himself into trouble. If there's anything else he told you –"

"He just said that he was going after Paul and Phillip," David replied miserably. "He said not to tell anyone he left until you noticed that he was gone." There was a short silence, then James gave his son a reassuring pat and left.

Harry didn't have anything to tell the time by, so it felt as if several days had passed. In reality, it had only been a day. The boys had slept a little here and there, and even when they were awake, it was silent. Harry was fairly certain that the twins were contemplating ways to put Snape and Lestrange in immense amounts of pain. He spent his time trying to think of any possible way of escape. So far, he had come up empty.

A creaking noise announced that the trunk was opening. Quickly, Harry touched Snape's wand and whispered, "_Nox._" The brighter light coming in from the open lid made him squint and blink. A long rope ladder fell in from the opening, but none of the boys moved to take it. Snape's face appeared in the opening.

"It is against my will that you are brought out of the trunk, but it is necessary for this stage of our journey," he said, pronouncing each word with distaste. "I would suggest that you climb the ladder before I must bring you up here by force. Lupin has already tasted a small portion of the Cruciatus Curse; I'm sure he can tell you how terrible it is to withstand."

Paul and Phillip stood together, and Harry saw the rage in their eyes. Quickly, he stood and reached the ladder before them, keeping them from doing anything rash. He climbed it so automatically that he almost wondered if Snape was controlling him. The second he was out, rough hands pushed him to the ground and held him there. The twins and Jared were soon beside him in a like manner.

"In order to maintain a normal appearance, we will be forced to take a Muggle bus across town," Snape said, walking around the boys. "You are to be as inconspicuous as possible. If you so much as twitch your nose wrong, you will be adequately punished once we are safely hidden once again."

"Suppose we escape?" Phillip looked up as far as was possible from his position, his eyes dark.

"Oh, I don't think there's any danger of that," Snape answered with a nasty smirk, placing his shoe on Phillip's face and pushing it back to the ground. Phillip pulled his head away angrily.

"Let them up," Snape said to the men pinning the boys to the ground. Harry felt the pressure on his back relieved, and stood carefully. He looked around at his friends, feeling hope of escape coming to him for the first time since his capture.

Less than an hour after David had told his parents that Harry was missing, twenty wizards were gathered at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, including James, Lily, and David. Dumbledore surveyed the group gravely.

"David, how long ago did Harry leave?" he asked the boy, stern, but not unkind.

"It was right after Sirius and Holly told us that the twins were gone, yesterday morning," David answered, doing his best to look Dumbledore in the eye.

"Did he say anything about Jared?"

At this, Remus put his arm around his wife, who looked close to tears. They had found their son missing late the night before. David shook his head.

"He didn't say anything directly, but I don't think he would've left without talking to him," the boy said in a small voice. "I'm almost sure Jared's with Harry."

"What were they thinking?" groaned Elphias Doge, shaking his head. "The Death Eaters have killed some of the best wizards we had, and they're no more than kids."

"Kids they may be, but sometimes, a young heart can accomplish what older minds can't even fathom," Gideon Prewitt said. "If you'll remember, Fabian was the one that got the two of us out of that scrape we landed in years ago, and he was only seventeen."

Doge didn't reply, but others nodded. The Prewitt brothers had faced off against five Death Eaters nearly twenty years ago, and very nearly died. "Besides," Fabian added, "We're getting old. Who's going to continue to fight against Voldemort once we're crippled with age? Not everyone ages so gracefully as Dumbledore; I say it's about time we start recruiting new members."

"As do I, but we have left the original subject far behind," Dumbledore said softly, reminding everyone in the room that they were gathered for a reason. "We must organize a search party for the boys. I've heard reports of a farmer south of the Potter's house that claims a woman broke into his house, but can't remember much afterwards. I'd say that's as good a place to start as any."

As assignments were given and plans laid out, the Potters, Lupins, and Blacks gathered together in silence, drawing encouragement from each other before they went on a mission to get their sons back.


	6. Collision

A/N Um .. I'm back.

By the time they got to the bus, Harry's heart had plunged again. The four boys each had two large men on either side of them, with Snape leading the group and Lestrange bringing up the rear. The driver of the bus was obviously intrigued by they odd procession, but Snape gave him such a look that he didn't dare ask any questions. As the boys were escorted to the top level of the bus, Harry couldn't think of any possible way to get out of this.

The 15-minute bus drive seemed to drag on for hours. Finally, Harry could see the stop where they would get off, though it was a ways off. As they passed through the next intersection, everything seemed to slow down. Harry could see a large pickup coming towards them and thought, _He's got to stop._ But the truck kept coming; it even seemed to speed up. Faintly, a split second before collision, Harry wondered what kind of suicidal maniac was driving. Then, there was a roar of screeching metal, and the bus started to tip. Harry jumped out just before it hit the ground and reached out to break his fall. He heard a loud snap and immediately knew that he had broken his wrist, but there was no time for that now, he had to get out before he was caught, surely the others would already be running.

"Get up, Harry, run!"

He wasn't sure who was shouting at him, but he felt someone pull him up by the shirt and drag him along. After a minute or two, he could see that it was Phillip, but he couldn't focus on anything else. He just kept running, reminding himself over and over that he had to get away, he had to escape, he had to run until –

Suddenly, he ran into someone, and the person's hand closed around his broken wrist. That was all it took for the pain and stress to overwhelm him, and everything went black.

/

"He's coming 'round."

Harry opened his eyes slowly and looked around, but everything was blurry and the lighting was dim. Someone handed him his glasses, and he put them on and squinted through the dim light.

"Dad?" A sudden wave of feelings came over him, ranging from joy at seeing his father to fear that he was about to get the worst tongue-lashing of his life. Shaking his head, Harry tried to act controlled and calm. "Are the others here too?"

"I'm here." Phillip spoke from a corner of the room. "But that's it."

Harry began to feel the same frustration and anger building up that he heard in Phillip's voice. "Then why are we here? We've got to go!" He tried to stand up, but his father held him down.

"Stay calm, son," James said, keeping a firm hand on Harry's shoulder. "You've done more than anyone expected you could do already, just by surviving. This time, you need to plan before you make your next move."

"That's what you want me to do?" Harry asked incredulously. "Sit here and think of all the possible ways I could go about a rescue mission while Paul and Jared get farther and farther away? Aren't you the one that's always been disgusted by how long the Ministry takes to discuss problems before they do something about it?"

"First of all, this is not the Ministry," James said, his voice raised somewhat to stop Harry's rant. "This is the Order of the Phoenix. You were not to be told anything of it until you came of age, but you managed to put yourself in the midst of our – activities. There are some people who have serious doubts about your abilities, but I've managed to convince them to at least let you into the meetings for now. If you want to help Paul and Jared at all, you must prove yourself completely willing and able to help."

Harry's mouth opened slightly. This wasn't exactly what he had expected. Slightly taken aback, he asked, "What's the Order of the Phoenix?"

"It's a secret organization formed to fight Voldemort," James replied, and Harry was even further shocked. He hadn't even thought of the possibility of his parents being involved in a secret force working against the most evil wizard the world had ever known.

"Is Mom here too?" Harry asked, his mind still trying to catch up.

"Yes," James said, "and so are Sirius, Holly, Remus, and Anne."

There was silence for a few seconds while Harry tried to absorb this new information; then, James stood. "We don't have a lot of time," the man said, reaching down and pulling his son up. "Phillip told us about what's happened so far. Snape and Lestrange most likely suspect that what happened back there was not an accident."

"It – it wasn't?" Harry asked, feeling foolish.

"Of course not, we sent that truck at you because it was the only way we could think of that would get you out of their hands for a crucial moment," James explained. "There were members of the Order standing by to Apparate as soon as you were in their hands. Now, let's get going."

/

Paul came to himself slowly. When the bus had tipped over, one of his guards had managed to pin the boy's arms to his side, and Paul had no way to protect his head from leaving a crater in the cement. He now had an excruciating headache, and he found himself bound firmly on the bottom of an unfamiliar room. Rolling over and holding back a cry at the pain that shot through his head, Paul saw that Jared had somehow propped himself up against a nearby wall.

"It's about time you woke up," Jared said, his voice flat. "We've been here for an hour."

"What happened after the crash?" Paul asked, doing his best to ignore the sharp pain stabbing through his brain.

"Phil and Harry made it out, but Snape grabbed me before I could run too far," Jared said. "One of them picked you up and another held on to me, and we got through the crowd until we came here."

"Where's here?" Paul muttered, his eyes moving around, trying to take in the room through the dim light.

"I dunno, but I'm willing to bet it's not a five-star hotel."

There was a long silence; Paul closed his eyes and wished he could pass out again. His life had become a living nightmare, and he knew that he couldn't wake up. The only question was how it would all turn out.

Without warning, the door swung open, and Snape stormed in. Furious, the man yanked Jared up and stood the boy on his feet without untying him. "Where did they go?" he bellowed, any shred of composure gone. "Who dared to try and help you?"

Jared's face was hard. He didn't reply with anything other than a glare. Snape backhanded him with such force that the boy was knocked to the ground, landing hard. "Speak!" Snape shouted, placing his foot just below Jared's breastbone. The man pushed harder and harder, and Jared felt the breath being pushed out of him. Soon, it was impossible for him to speak. Paul tried to move to help him, but he was bound too tightly. Snape turned all his rage onto Paul.

"Who did you recognize in the crowd?" Snape demanded, grabbing Paul by the hair. The boy closed his eyes as the throbbing increase tenfold. Letting go of Paul's hair, Snape kicked the boy viciously in the stomach, and Paul doubled up, trying in vain now to protect himself. Snape was in an uncontrollable state, driven by fear of his master and anger at himself for failing. He carried on for a long time, certain that the boys knew something of what had happened. Bound as they were, the boys could do nothing but wait for the verbal and physical abuse to come to an end. Finally, Snape withdrew, leaving the two boys bruised and bleeding on the cold ground.


	7. The Rescue

Harry and Phillip stood side by side, stubbornly looking Doge in the eye. The older wizard shook his head. "You can't help us on this, boys. You just don't know what you're up against!"

"We don't know what we're up against?" Harry repeated incredulously.

"Tell me, when was the last time _you_ were captured by a couple of Death Eaters?" Phillip asked, his voice cutting. "We know better than you what to prepare for."

"You're fourteen years old!" Doge cried, exasperated. "You'll just get in the way! If you don't agree, I'll have you locked up until we return with Paul and Jared!"

"Just try it," Harry threatened as both boys pulled out the wands Dumbledore had supplied them with. Dumbledore himself joined them then, standing between Doge and the boys.

"You both understand that your mothers don't wish you to go?" Dumbledore said, his eyes piercing.

"Yes sir, but we can't just stay here!" Phillip protested, knowing full well that once Dumbledore passed judgement, his word was law.

"Professor, you can't make us stay," Harry said, his eyes steel. "The four of us are close as anyone could be, and we couldn't stand just laying around while they're in danger."

There was a brief pause; then, Dumbledore said, "Loyalty has spoken, Elphias. It would be cruel to deny it." With that, Dumbledore left, preparing for the next rescue attempt. Harry and Phillip left Doge standing there, and they went to learn what their part in this plan would be.

/

Jared lay quietly on the floor, staring at blood stains born from Snape's rage. Neither he nor Paul had spoken since Snape left. Jared was too tired and weakened to care much what would happen to them next. Hope of escape had dwindled until it was very nearly gone, and the boy had resigned himself to the fact that he would die at the hands of the Death Eaters, like so many others had died.

Paul was also certain that he was facing death, but he was ready to take as many with him as he possibly could. He had developed the same fiery hatred of Death Eaters as his father, after learning of the deeds done by cousins, aunts, and uncles. From the time Snape had taken out his rage on them and then left, Paul had been on a roller coaster. He would get more and more worked up, thinking about what he wanted to do when they took off the ropes that bound him, until he forced himself to breathe normally and calm his nerves in order to stop the pounding in his head. Not long afterward, he would begin to work himself into a fury again. Paul was close to the peak of his anger when the door opened again, and he somehow managed to get to his feet and face whatever entered the room. What he saw surprised him so much that he fell back again, nearly landing on top of Jared.

Harry and Phillip were standing in the doorway.

Quickly, using their wands, the two boys freed their friends and helped them stand. Paul tried to voice his amazement, but Harry and Phillip both shook their heads, warning him to stay quiet. The four of them walked right out the front door of the small shack, with no sign of either Snape or Lestrange. Jared and Paul looked at each other wonderingly as they walked through a forest, but no one spoke a word until they were standing before an old discarded watch.

"Portkey," Harry whispered, barely loud enough for the others to hear. Only a few seconds after all had gotten a finger on the watch, they were jerked violently out of the trees, landing in a building several miles away. Dumbledore was waiting for them, and Harry and Phillip couldn't help grinning in triumph.

"We got them," they said together. With a pop, Sirius and Holly suddenly appeared next to the boys, and Holly gave a cry of relief, pulling her boys to her. Sirius also embraced them, but his eyes were troubled.

"What's happened?" Dumbledore asked gravely.

"We managed to get Snape and Lestrange out of the house," Sirius reported, his voice low. "The ambush worked almost perfectly, except that Elphias was just a few seconds behind on disarming Snape." There was a slight pause, ominous, before Sirius continued. "Snape hit Remus with a nasty curse. Lily and Poppy are working on it, but they hadn't figured out what it was when I left."

The joyous feeling that had filled the four boys at being safely reunited disappeared. Jared was pale and unsteady, but his eyes were locked on Sirius. "How bad is he?"

Sirius met Jared's eyes for a moment, but couldn't hold a steady gaze. "They're not sure."

"I've got to go see him," Jared said instantly, his expression resolute.

"They'll be here as soon as they dare," Dumbledore said, placing a hand on Jared's shoulder. "You need rest."

"I'm fine," Jared argued, despite the fact that he was a mass of blood. "Let me go see him!"

Holly let go of her sons to embrace Jared, then led him over to a nearby cot. "Sleep," she said softly. "They'll be here when you wake up, and you'll feel better."

Dumbledore nodded approvingly. "You should all rest," he said. "I have a feeling that we'll all have a great deal of recovering to after this ordeal."

Harry followed Phillip and Paul obediently to the other cots that had been set up, but he was certain that sleep was far away. Sirius hadn't mentioned his father, and Harry wanted to know what had happened to him. His mind was also filled with worry for the Lupin family, and whether Remus would be able to heal. Slowly, Harry drifted into sleep, only to be taunted by dreams of the terrible things that had happened and terrible things that might happen. In a particularly detailed dream, Harry was back in the endless trunk, watching helplessly as Lestrange tormented Jared, only it wasn't Jared anymore, it was his little brother-

"David!"

Harry woke himself up shouting, shivering and soaked with cold sweat. Footsteps approached him slowly, and Harry looked up to see who it was. Even without his glasses on, he recognized the red hair and jumped up to pound his brother on the back. As Harry pulled away, David laughed and held up Harry's glasses, mangled by the greeting. Harry grinned and quickly repaired them. As he put them on, he saw that the small room was empty.

"Where is everyone?" Harry asked.

"Just in the other room," David answered, and Harry noticed that the younger boy looked exhausted under his smile.

"Are you alright? You look like you could use a rest," Harry said, concerned.

"I'm fine," David said, shrugging it off. "Come on, Mom and Dad are waiting for you."

Walking out the door, Harry saw that there was one large room with several smaller rooms off of it, one of which was where he had been sleeping a minute ago. In the large room, several people were standing together near a table, and all of them turned at the sound of the door shutting.

"Harry!"

In less than two seconds, Harry was swept up into his mother's arms and hugged until he couldn't breathe. He was rescued by his father, who also embraced Harry, though not quite as tightly. Stepping back, Harry could see that his father had lines of worry around his eyes, and suddenly, he remembered all that had happened.

"How's Remus doing?" Harry asked.

"Not too well," James answered, the lines deepening momentarily. "We can go see him if you'd like."

"David, go get some sleep," his mother ordered, and the younger boy hesitated for only a moment. As he walked away, Lily shook her head. "He wouldn't sleep until you woke up and he could see for himself that you were ok," she said to Harry. "He's felt horrible about this whole thing."

Harry felt an unexpected warmth toward the boy who had previously been nothing more than a pest. The warmth was quickly extinguished, however, as his parents led him to Remus' room, where the dark atmosphere chilled his heart.


End file.
